Tech news you may have missed: Sept 15 – 21

In a week of security breaches and product releases, these are the top stories you may have missed on TechRepublic for September 15-21, 2022.

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How to display multiple grand total rows in a Microsoft Excel PivotTable

While the PivotTable function is fairly easy to use in Microsoft Excel, the feature does not easily show grand totals across the table. Susan Harkins previously taught us how to display subtotals in PivotTable, and now she shows you how to build and use grand total rows.

TL;DR: This process involves several steps and is counter-intuitive at times. But the end result can ease the burden of working in PivotTables for many users.

Read the full article here.

Uber investigating security breach of several internal systems

Uber suffered a security breach on Thursday, September 15, that exposed company information via Slack and several internal databases. The breach was revealed when the hacker made a post on the ride sharing company’s internal Slack: “I announce I am a hacker and Uber has suffered a data breach.”

TL;DR: The hack occurred through social engineering techniques. While breaches of this sort cannot be completely avoided, companies should ensure the proper training and guardrails are in place to prevent and mitigate attacks before sensitive information is exposed.

Read the full article here.

Uber exposes Lapsus$ extortion group for security breach

In a follow-up article to last week’s breaking news of the Uber hack, Lance Whitney explains how the Lapsus$ hacker group allegedly carried out their attack on the ridesharing company. The social engineering attack was carried out in two stages: A hacker stole a contractor’s login via a fake two-factor authentication request, and another hacker purchased the credentials on the dark web and sent a series of two-factor authentication requests to the contractor. The contractor eventually accepted one of those requests, allowing entry to the systems.

TL;DR: Humans are the weakest link in the security chain. Organizations must provide ongoing training and awareness of the latest threats to help employees at all levels identify and report suspicious behaviors.

Read the full article here.

How to use passwords to grant users access to different Microsoft Excel workbook ranges

Password protection in Microsoft Excel is useful for limiting access to full worksheets or data sets, but it can also be used to allow multiple users to access data while limiting the data each can edit. Susan Harkins shows you how to use the Allow Edit Ranges feature to do this.

TL;DR: You can password protect an entire sheet, while also allowing access for individual users to update the cells you assign to them. This password protection is not a security measure, however, and is intended to prevent users overwriting their colleagues’ work.

Read the full article here.

Windows 11 22H2 is here

Windows has released an update to Windows 11 and will continue to roll out new features monthly and as part of Patch Tuesdays. This schedule of regular updates is meant to increase the security and usability of the operating system, while giving IT professionals more control over what they release to organizations.

TL;DR: Don’t count on new features to be released every month. The new system is meant to ensure that Microsoft is releasing quality features when they’re ready and not according to an artificial deadline like an annual release.

Read the full article here.